Ireland celebrated a record 14 Oscar nominations on Tuesday, with five of the 20 acting spots up for grabs and a nomination for a feature film in the Irish language for the first time.
The loot-including nine nominations for” the Banshees of inisherin”, the dark comedy filmed on a remote island off the West Coast of Ireland – was the main entry in the Irish Evening News, relegating politics to second place.
“Congratulations on all the Irish Oscar nominations. It’s fantastic to see Irish creative talent getting well-deserved recognition on the world stage,” Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Twitter.
“Comhghairdeas mór leis An Cailín Ciúin (the Quiet girl) – the first ever Irish film to receive a nomination,” he added, using the native language to congratulate the first-ever Irish nominee in the prestigious International Film category.
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan all earned their first ever Oscar nomination for “the Banshees of Inisherin”, while Paul Mescal joined Farrell on the shortlist for Best Actor for the independent film “Aftersun”.
Only the United States and Britain-with a population and a film industry surpassing that of Ireland – had been nominated with five or more actors in one year, according to Reuters calculations.
Ireland was also well represented in the craft categories, including Best Visual Effects and editing, while former winner Martin McDonagh complemented his growing Oscar resume with a nomination for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for “Banshees”.
The film is also among the bookmakers ‘ favourites for the best film.
Particular pride was there for An Cailín Ciúin, a film that has brought a language spoken daily by a small minority to the world stage, beating filmmakers like four-time Oscar winner Alejandro Inarritu for the last international film selection.
“There may have been the idea that making a film in the Irish language was a dead end, creatively or commercially. I think that idea has now been absolutely debunked, ” Director Colm Bairéad told The Irish Times as the cast and crew celebrated at a local cinema in Dublin.
“There is no reason why Irish filmmakers should limit their ambitions, they should make films for the world.”
